The women of Mockingjay

How’s this for a great photo call and red carpet? Mockingjay is expected to be the biggest movie of the season. And it’s being represented on the press tour by a predominantly female cast. The Hunger Games is in London. Yesterday was the photo call with Julianne Moore, Elizabeth Banks, and Natalie Dormer. Tonight was the big premiere. As you can see, Jennifer Lawrence is making it a white theme for England.

Yes, of course, Liam Hemsworth was there. And Donald Sutherland too. But the most powerful photos are the ones with the woman all lined up and I want to believe this isn’t by accident. Because it doesn’t happen very often – that a film with this much expectation and hype is fronted not by Danny Ocean and his boys but by Katniss and her crew.

And a word on Julianne Moore, considered by many to be the Best Actress frontrunner but who has been much less visible than some of her counterparts during campaign season. Julianne didn’t have to be at the Governors Awards or at the various ass-kissy events this weekend but is just as visible on official promotion for what will likely be the highest grossing release of the year. The advantage for her here is that she doesn’t have to appear to be courting the Academy so aggressively – and can float above all that politicking happening in LA – but still remain relevant, straddling both the independent side of filmmaking with the commercial projects as well.